Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) to a strong sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MLAB has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of MLAB stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $77.77. 82,088 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,197. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.50 and its 200 day moving average is $78.16. The company has a market capitalization of $429.29 million, a P/E ratio of -243.03 and a beta of 0.90. Mesa Laboratories has a 1 year low of $55.45 and a 1 year high of $155.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -200.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simcoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,794,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 2,009.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 114,357 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,664,000 after buying an additional 108,936 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 218.0% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after buying an additional 84,582 shares during the period. Roubaix Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the third quarter worth $5,137,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 131.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 133,817 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,967,000 after acquiring an additional 76,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment offers biological, chemical, and cleaning indicators, used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization decontamination, disinfection, and cleaning processes in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare industries.